Avada review: is the #1 bestselling WordPress theme worth it?

Avada has been the best-selling WordPress theme on ThemeForest for years with over 900,000 sales. This all-in-one multipurpose theme promises you can build any website without writing code.

But does Avada justify its popularity? In this review we dive into Fusion Builder, performance, design options and pricing. You'll also read who this theme is and isn't suitable for.

What is Avada?

Avada is a premium WordPress multipurpose theme developed by ThemeFusion. The theme has existed since 2012 and has grown to become the best-selling theme on the Envato marketplace.

The core of Avada is the Fusion Builder. This is a drag-and-drop page builder that works similarly to Elementor or Divi. You build pages visually by dragging elements and adjusting styling without code.

The theme contains 85+ ready-made demo websites that you can import with one click. From webshops to portfolios and corporate sites. The idea is that you import a demo and then customize it to your brand identity.

Design capabilities

Fusion Builder

Fusion Builder is the heart of Avada. You get two options: a front-end builder where you work directly on your page, or a back-end builder in the WordPress dashboard.

The front-end builder works intuitively. Click an element and directly adjust the text, color or spacing. You drag new elements from a sidebar to the desired position. You see the result immediately.

You get access to 85+ builder elements. Think sliders, tabs, pricing tables, forms, Google Maps, WooCommerce products and testimonials. Each element has dozens of styling options.

The difference with Elementor or other builders? Fusion Builder is fully integrated into the theme. That means fewer plugins needed, but also that you're locked into this theme if you've built many pages.

Pre-built websites

Avada comes with 85+ complete demo websites. These range from restaurants and fitness centers to law firms and e-commerce sites. Each demo contains multiple pages and sections.

Importing is done via the Avada wizard. You choose a demo, click import and within a few minutes the complete site is live. Then you adjust texts, images and colors to your preferences.

The demos are professionally designed. They follow modern design trends and are fully responsive. For beginners this is a relief. You don't have to start from scratch.

Note: importing demo content can be heavy for your hosting. Make sure you have sufficient storage and performance. Read more about WordPress hosting requirements before importing.

Header and footer builder

Avada contains a visual header builder. You design your own header layout with logo, menu, icons and call-to-action buttons. Sticky headers, transparent headers and mega menus are all possible.

The footer builder works the same way. You build columns with widgets, text and links. Or you choose a simple copyright line. You set everything up visually without code.

Display logic determines where headers appear. For example, show a different header on product pages than on your homepage. Or hide certain menu items for logged-out users.

Theme options

The Avada options panel is gigantic. You'll find literally hundreds of settings for colors, typography, spacing, animations and more. This gives complete control, but can also be overwhelming.

You set up a global design system with primary colors, fonts and button styles. These are automatically applied to your entire site. This way you maintain consistency without manually adjusting styling everywhere.

For advanced users there are custom CSS and JavaScript fields. You can add your own code without needing a child theme. Convenient, but less scalable for large projects.

Features and functionality

WooCommerce integration

Avada works seamlessly with WooCommerce. You get custom product page layouts, shop layouts and checkout styling. The builder contains WooCommerce elements for product grids, categories and featured items.

The shopping cart and checkout are fully customizable. Change colors, add trust badges or adjust the order of fields. This helps optimize your conversion without extra plugins.

Product quickview, wishlist and comparison tool are included by default. Features you would normally need separate plugins for. This saves extensions and potential conflicts.

Mega menus

The mega menu system is powerful. You build menus with columns, images, icons and widgets. Ideal for sites with lots of content that you want to show organized.

The mega menu builder is visual. You directly see how your menu looks while adding columns and dragging content. You set up mobile menu styling separately with its own interface.

Menu styling options are endless. Background colors, hover effects, spacing, borders – you set everything via the options panel. Or you use the builder for per-item styling.

Portfolio and blog layouts

Avada contains 5+ portfolio layouts. From masonry grids to carousels and fullscreen galleries. Each portfolio item gets a custom layout with images, videos and project details.

Blog layouts are just as flexible. Choose between classic blog layouts, grids, masonry or timeline styles. You adjust featured images, excerpts and meta data per layout.

Filtering and categories work automatically. Visitors can filter portfolio items by category or tag. This makes your content findable without extra search functionality.

Forms and contact options

The Fusion Form Builder is included in Avada by default. You build contact forms, signup forms and calculators without extra plugins. Forms integrate with email marketing tools like Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign.

You match form styling with your site design. You adjust colors, borders, spacing and button styles via the builder. You set up validation and error messages per field.

This saves you a separate forms plugin like Contact Form 7 or WPForms. Although those plugins are more user-friendly for complex forms with conditional logic.

Performance: the pain point

Let's be honest. Avada is known as a heavy theme. The enormous amount of features and options comes at a price: performance impact.

Why is Avada heavy?

Avada loads many CSS and JavaScript files. Even if you only use a fraction of the features, a lot of code is loaded. This increases your page size and load time.

The average Avada page is 2-3 MB without images. For comparison: a lightweight theme like GeneratePress is often under 50 KB. That difference is enormous.

Fusion Builder adds extra database queries. Each builder section is stored as a separate meta field. With complex pages with many sections, this can burden your database.

Performance optimizations

Avada does contain performance features. You can compress CSS and JavaScript, activate lazy loading for images and optimize font loading. This helps, but doesn't solve the fundamental problem.

Dynamic CSS generates stylesheet based on your theme options. This means one large CSS file instead of multiple small ones. It's more efficient, but still large.

For speed you need good hosting. A shared hosting server of €3 per month won't cut it. You need at least VPS or managed WordPress hosting for acceptable load times.

Testing and results

Test users report load times of 2-4 seconds on decent hosting. With a cache plugin like WP Rocket you get under 2 seconds. But lightweight themes often achieve under 1 second.

Google PageSpeed scores vary between 60-80 on mobile without optimization. With image optimization, caching and a CDN you get towards 85-90. That's acceptable, but not excellent.

For blogs and informational sites the performance is manageable. For webshops or sites where every second counts for conversion, consider a faster alternative.

Advantages of Avada

All-in-one solution You get theme, page builder, slider, forms and more in one package. This saves installing and managing 5-10 separate plugins.

Enormous design freedom With 85+ demos and hundreds of options you build virtually any website. From simple to complex. The possibilities are almost endless.

Large community and support 900,000+ customers means a huge community. On forums you find answers to almost any question. Support responds within 24 hours via ticket system.

Regular updates ThemeFusion updates Avada every 4-6 weeks. Bug fixes, new features and WordPress compatibility stay up-to-date. This is important for security and stability.

Good documentation The knowledge base contains hundreds of tutorials, videos and articles. From basic setup to advanced customization. For beginners this is indispensable.

Lifetime updates For €69 one-time you get lifetime updates. No annual license renewal. This makes it cost-effective long-term.

WooCommerce optimization The webshop features are extensive. You build professional product pages without extra plugins or custom code.

Disadvantages of Avada

Performance impact Avada is heavy. Load times are higher than lightweight themes. You need good hosting for acceptable speed.

Learning curve The enormous amount of options is overwhelming. Beginners spend days learning the interface. You probably never use many features.

Vendor lock-in If you build many pages with Fusion Builder, you're locked into Avada. Switching to another theme means rebuilding all your pages.

No multisite license €69 is for one website. For multiple sites you pay per piece. Agencies quickly pay hundreds of euros for client websites.

Design can feel dated Some demos follow trends from 2015-2018. You see many gradients, large hero sections and parallax effects that feel less modern.

Support only in English Documentation and support are entirely in English. For non-English speakers this can create barriers when troubleshooting.

Pricing and licenses

Avada costs €69.00 (approximately $69) for a regular license. This is a one-time payment for use on one website. You get lifetime updates and 6 months support.

After 6 months you can extend support for approximately €23.50 extra. Updates remain always free, even without active support license.

There is no free version or trial. You buy via ThemeForest and get 30 days money-back guarantee if the theme doesn't suit you.

For agencies there is no special license. You buy a new license per website. With 10+ websites this becomes expensive compared to Divi which allows unlimited sites for $89/year.

The price is competitive for what you get. Comparable all-in-one themes like Divi cost annually, where Avada is one-time. You do pay for support extension though.

Who is Avada suitable for?

Ideal for:

Freelancers and agencies If you regularly build client websites with different designs, Avada offers the flexibility you need. The demos are a good starting point.

No developer knowledge You build complex websites without knowing HTML, CSS or PHP. The visual builder and options make everything accessible for beginners.

Budget-conscious projects For €69 one-time you have everything you need. No monthly or annual costs like SaaS builders. Ideal for small budgets.

WooCommerce webshops The webshop features are extensive enough for professional e-commerce sites. You optimize product pages for conversion.

Websites with varied content Portfolios, blogs, landing pages, webshops – Avada can do it all. If you need many different page types, the flexibility is valuable.

Less suitable for:

Performance-critical websites If load time is your top priority, choose a lightweight theme like GeneratePress or Astra. Avada's overhead is significant.

Minimalist projects For a simple blog or portfolio, Avada is overkill. You pay for features you never use. A free WordPress theme suffices.

Large multisite networks License costs stack up. For 20+ websites you pay €1,380. Divi or other themes with unlimited sites are more economical.

Developers who want custom code If you prefer coding yourself, Avada feels restrictive. You're stuck with the theme structure and builder. A starter theme is more flexible.

Websites where you want to switch themes later The vendor lock-in is serious. Months of work in Fusion Builder is lost if you switch. Choose Avada only if you want to continue with it long-term.

Alternatives to Avada

Still doubting? These are strong alternatives:

Divi - €99/year for unlimited sites. Better value for agencies. Fewer features than Avada but just as flexible.

Astra Pro - €59/year. Much lighter and faster. Works with Elementor or other builders. Less all-in-one.

GeneratePress Premium - €59/year. Extremely lightweight. Ideal for performance. Fewer visual options.

OceanWP - Free base, Pro from €39/year. Good for WooCommerce. Less complex than Avada.

Frequently asked questions

Does Avada work with Elementor? Technically yes, but it's not recommended. You then install two page builders which makes performance even heavier. Use the Fusion Builder that's included.

Can I use Avada without Fusion Builder? Yes, but then you miss 80% of Avada's strength. You can just use WordPress blocks, but why would you pay €69 for this theme then?

How heavy is Avada really? A fresh installation with demo content is 50-100 MB. Pages are 2-3 MB. With optimization you get lower, but it remains heavier than lightweight themes.

Do I get updates after 6 months? Yes, lifetime updates are free. You only pay for extended support access if you need help from ThemeFusion.

Is Avada suitable for beginners? Yes and no. The interface is visual and logical, but the enormous amount of options is overwhelming. Expect a week to master the basics.

Can I use Avada demos for client projects? Yes, demo content may be used and customized for commercial projects. Do check the license of used images and replace those.

Does Avada work with Gutenberg? You can choose between Fusion Builder or Gutenberg editor. Most users choose Fusion Builder because that's where Avada's strength lies.

Is there an Avada license for multiple websites? No, you pay per site. For agencies this becomes expensive. Consider Divi or another theme with unlimited sites license then.